We went online looking for a free toy dog and found a Yorkie right away on Craigslist. The owner said he was from Hayesville, North Carolina and a Peace Corps volunteer, but he misspelled "corps." Stationed at Cameroon, the climate is too hot for the dog. There is no adoption fee, just pay for shipping. So we responded with an e-mail. We ask, "are these the actual pictures of the dog?" He replies, "Exactly! Those are the present of the puppy." Odd wording for a southerner and his accent wasn't familiar. We ask, "you're from North Carolina?" He says, "exactly." We ask again, "so that's the accent I'm hearing, is a North Carolina accent?" His response, "please I can't hear you, please the lines not good." At first he says shipping will cost $480 dollars, but drops it to $280 dollars. Over the course of a week of e-mails we talk him down to $200 dollars, then $150 dollars and finally $100 dollars to ship a dog from Africa to San Francisco. We send him nothing.

But before paying that price tag, she paid a higher price in lost innocence and a few hundred extra dollars.

It all started when Rebecca responded to an Internet ad for a free puppy, owned by a poster who said he could no longer afford to care for the animal.

Rebecca Aobaugh: "There was always a line in there that always got me. It was, 'please, please promise me that you'll send me pictures of my puppy.' So that kind of pulled at my heart strings and that's why I went for that."

She sent $200 dollars for shipping of the dog to Cameroon, Africa. No dog arrived. An employee of Delta Airlines told Rebecca this could be a scam.

Rebecca Aobaugh: "I said, no it's not a scam. How could it be a scam? How could people scam you for a puppy?"

Then came a request for an additional $600 dollars. She didn't fall for it and that's how she ended up buying this little guy.

So we went online looking for a free toy dog and found a Yorkie right away on Craigslist. The owner said he was from Hayesville, North Carolina and a Peace Corps volunteer, but he misspelled "corps." Stationed at Cameroon, the climate is too hot for the dog. There is no adoption fee, just pay for shipping. So we responded with an e-mail.

"Sounds good, what do I do next?" we wrote. He writes back with his telephone number and we call Cameroon.

Federal regulations don't allow us to play his side of the conversation, but here's what transpired.

We ask, "are these the actual pictures of the dog?" He replies, "Exactly! Those are the present of the puppy." Odd wording for a southerner and his accent wasn't familiar.

We ask, "you're from North Carolina?" He says, "exactly." We ask again, "so that's the accent I'm hearing, is a North Carolina accent?" His response, "please I can't hear you, please the lines not good."

At first he says shipping will cost $480 dollars, but drops it to $280 dollars. Over the course of a week of e-mails we talk him down to $200 dollars, then $150 dollars and finally $100 dollars to ship a dog from Africa to San Francisco. We send him nothing.

Rebecca Aobaugh: "The lady at Delta Airlines said something about that. She said something and you know, I didn't want to believe her."

We checked with the Peace Corps and were told there is no volunteer named Jamcrystal Halmkay stationed as a volunteer in Cameroon. By the way, Jamcrystal stopped our e-mail exchange when I continued questioning his identity.

Paul Theroux: Peace Corps WriterPaul Theroux began by writing about the life he knew in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. His first first three novels are set in Africa and two of his later novels recast his Peace Corps tour as fiction. Read about how Theroux involved himself with rebel politicians, was expelled from Malawi, and how the Peace Corps tried to ruin him financially in John Coyne's analysis and appreciation of one of the greatest American writers of his generation (who also happens to be an RPCV).

Dodd issues call for National ServiceStanding on the steps of the Nashua City Hall where JFK kicked off his campaign in 1960, Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd issued a call for National Service. "Like thousands of others, I heard President Kennedy's words and a short time later joined the Peace Corps." Dodd said his goal is to see 40 million people volunteering in some form or another by 2020. "We have an appetite for service. We like to be asked to roll up our sleeves and make a contribution," he said. "We haven't been asked in a long time."

Public diplomacy rests on sound public policyWhen President Kennedy spoke of "a long twilight struggle," and challenged the country to "ask not," he signaled that the Cold War was the challenge and framework defining US foreign policy. The current challenge is not a struggle against a totalitarian foe. It is not a battle against an enemy called "Islamofascism." From these false assumptions flow false choices, including the false choice between law enforcement and war. Instead, law enforcement and military force both must be essential instruments, along with diplomacy, including public diplomacy. But public diplomacy rests on policy, and to begin with, the policy must be sound. Read more.

Ambassador revokes clearance for PC DirectorA post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania.

Peace Corps FunniesA PCV writing home? Our editor hard at work? Take a look at our Peace Corps Funnies and Peace Corps Cartoons and see why Peace Corps Volunteers say that sometimes a touch of levity can be one of the best ways of dealing with frustrations in the field. Read what RPCVs say about the lighter side of life in the Peace Corps and see why irreverent observations can often contain more than a grain of truth. We'll supply the photos. You supply the captions.

PCOL serves half millionPCOL's readership for April exceeded 525,000 visitors - a 50% increase over last year. This year also saw the advent of a new web site: Peace Corps News that together with the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps serve 17,000 RPCVs, Staff, and Friends of the Peace Corps every day. Thanks for making PCOL your source of news for the Peace Corps community. Read more.

Suspect confesses in murder of PCVSearch parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences .

Warren Wiggins: Architect of the Peace CorpsWarren Wiggins, who died at 84 on April 13, became one of the architects of the Peace Corps in 1961 when his paper, "A Towering Task," landed in the lap of Sargent Shriver, just as Shriver was trying to figure out how to turn the Peace Corps into a working federal department. Shriver was electrified by the treatise, which urged the agency to act boldly. Read Mr. Wiggins' obituary and biography, take an opportunity to read the original document that shaped the Peace Corps' mission, and read John Coyne's special issue commemorating "A Towering Task."

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

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Story Source: ABC News

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Cameroon; COS - Nigeria; Internet; Crime

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